Looking for Cigar Accessories?

Check this out

I was recently approached by Gabby Shayne from The Scotch Malt Whisky Society of America. Every year, they organize what they call "Single Malt & Scotch Whisky Extravaganza", an event during which one can taste over 100 different whiskies (sounds crazy, right?) and enjoy a cigar afterwards. This spring, the events will be held in major US cities such as Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Denver and New York. Tickets cost $135 and the price is reduced to $120 if you use code "CI2010" when placing the order (here is the form). The best part is that we've got 2 tickets to one of the Spring 2010 events, ready to be given away to one lucky reader. Check out the schedule and if it sounds like something you're interested in and you can make it, just leave a comment below to be entered in the draw. The winner will be announced in one week.

Ladies and Gentlemen are cordially invited to enjoy a connoisseur's evening featuring over 100 rare & exceptional single malt and Scotch whiskies. The evening includes a delicious dinner buffet as well as a selection of premium imported cigars for our guests' later enjoyment. The Single Malt & Scotch Whisky Extravaganza brings the discerning enthusiast the opportunity to sample the participating whiskies in a sophisticated and elegant environment with genuine camaraderie and knowledgeable representatives from each participating distillery.

This past weekend I went down to NYC from Upstate NY and paid a visit to Club Macanudo to try it out.

Everything there is quite posh and the cigars as you can imagine are quite pricey. They only sell cigars made by General Cigar so I decided to try the Partagas Spanish Rosado Mitico which is the Churchill.

This is my second try at a Diplomaticos No. 2. The first one I had tasted a little basic and unrefined so I gave this second one a little over a year in my humidor to see how it progressed. Unfortunately this will be the only size left in the marque very soon as the Diplomaticos No. 4 and No. 5 have been discontinued.

I would like to thank FinestCubanCigars.com for providing these cigars for review. For over 10 years they ship Cuban cigars from Hong Kong at competitive prices.

This is a regional edition for Asia Pacific, released in 2007. Por Larranaga do not have a robusto in their regular line and I was quite curious how this one would taste. In fact I was even more curious to see whether this cigar would share the flavor profile with the regular production petit corona.

The Kristoff Ligero Criollo line was introduced back in 2008. It is is a medium to full body smoke that will satisfy lots of cigar palates. This cigar comes in several vitolas: a Churchill (7 x 50); a Toro (6.5 x 56); a Torpedo (6.13 x 52), and today’s feature cigar a Robusto (5.5 x 54). This cigar is a very pleasant, long smoke which does not disappoint. The Criollo Robusto series contains 70% added Nicaraguan ligero which definitely contributes to the fullness of the cigar. The Kristoff Ligero also comes in a Brazilian Maduro wrapper.

In the "Blog Highlights" series, we are taking a look back at the best cigar reviews & articles published on CigarInspector.com in 2009. Enjoy.

Oliva Serie G Maduro

We ran a contest back in June and some participants submitted their cigar reviews. One of the best ones was written by Charlia a.k.a. Labman and concerned a great cheapie, the Oliva Serie G Maduro.

Montecristo No. 4 Reserva

I had a chance to smoke a few very rare cigars in 2009, and the one I enjoyed the most is probably this Montecristo No. 4 Reserva. As it is extremely hard to find, I didn't include it in my top cigars list, otherwise it could have shifted the Trinidad Robusto T from the top spot.

Cain Habano

Cain is a marca released by Sam Leccia, supposed to be as strong as it can get. The Cain Habano, reviewed by Michael, is the blend that received better reviews across the blogosphere.